At present, agricultural harvesting machines such as combine harvesters typically include a residue discharge system for propelling crop residue onto a harvested field. The crop residue may typically include stalks, leaves and cobs separated from corn or maize; straw and chaff separated from wheat and other grasses; and stalks, leaves and pods of legumes such as soybeans. In many instances it is desirable for the crop residue to be spread as evenly as possible over the full width of the harvested crop, matching the header size.
Such even spreading may e.g. be hindered by cross-winds occurring during the harvesting.
In order to address this, known crop residue spreaders typically comprise a plurality of deflectors, or distributors, for projecting the crop residue in a particular direction, whereby an orientation of such deflectors or distributors may be adjusted by a adjustment mechanism, depending on the wind direction.
In known arrangements, it has been found that such an adjustment may be rendered difficult as crop residue may become stuck or clogged in the adjustment mechanism.